Page 33 of Deck of Scarlets

But that night… after that frightful nightmare, sitting on those stone steps, that scarlet cape, then Josh just showing up randomly? I happened to find my stupid handbook in that acceptance folder and read through it. Sure enough, there was a curfew in the facts sheet.

What gave him the right to boss me around when he was clearly breaking the rules himself? Had he seen what appeared on campus? That striking scarlet cape? Was he trying to look out for me? But what if... shit, what if he was involved instead? Could he be protecting them?

If so, then Nickie had to get far away from Josh as soon as possible. But I knew she wouldn’t listen, she never had since our friendship began. And besides, dangerous men were her favorite to screw around with and chase.

The lack of presence from Jeremy and Nickie made me realize one thing; I never thought for myself. All my actions reflected theirs and how they presented themselves. No, they weren’t bad people, but it would seem I’d been hiding behind a mask made by two people unsure of their own selves.

A mask I wasn’t expecting to take off.

But I did anyway because I gave them the okay to meet them tonight.

I sat in front of my LED vanity mirror propped on my desk, slapping on my makeup, trying to hide my designer eye bags that I didn’t buy purposefully.

Never again would I take an eight a.m.

Heather had left for the night. She’d made some friends in her accounting class, and they wanted to go out for pizza and beers with their fake IDs. The invitation was extended, but Electric Haze called my name, along with Jeremy and Nickie, several times. I guess they missed me despite the fact there was a lack of communication, but it went both ways, and I was equally to blame for not reaching out.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss them too.

Preparing for my night out, a soft knock came on my door. Unless my parents decided to stop by for a surprise visit or Heather forgot something of hers, I wasn’t expecting anyone to come by at this hour.

So, when I opened the door, my double surprise followed soon after, as the hallway remained empty. Confused, I stepped out, giving it a thorough check, waiting for someone to pop out and yell surprise, but all I heard were the girls down the hall laughing obnoxiously through the thin walls.

Annoyed and slightly embarrassed with myself for opening it in the first place, I began to retreat inside, when I noticed a scarlet envelope taped to my door. Strange how I didn’t see it before, but then again, when did I ever really pay attention to what was on my door these days? I peeled the tape off the wood that held it in place.

I gave one last glance at the empty hallway before I quietly stepped back inside to rip open the pretty envelope. Inside was an eggshell brochure with beautiful handwriting staining the paper in black ink. Black ink that said the time of the event for induction of The Order of the Scarlet Quill had changed from seven to eight pm.

But the letter was addressed to no one.

And yet somehow, they knew Heather and I were rooming together.

Because Heather still had no idea.

Which meant us being placed together was no coincidence.

My head was hurting, and it wasn’t even midnight yet.

I had already ripped the envelope open, so I couldn’t pretend to Heather I didn’t read it, but I could recreate it and just put her name on the front.

Well, now I had to find out.

Was my invitation still under my desk near the trash can?

A few minutes passed, and I luckily found a new envelope—unfortunately, not the color of blood, but she wouldn’t know the difference—and tried to mimic the elegant writing, somewhat successfully. I grabbed my purse and phone and taped the letter back on the door before skirting out of there as fast as possible before anyone saw me.

Born and raised in New York City, I refused to take the subway at night by myself. The horror stories I heard over the years of young girls like me getting kidnapped or, worse, sexually assaulted, instantly made up my mind never to ride it alone.

Besides, our family hired a personal driver, so I’d never need to, but the odds of him coming to get me were slim to none, mainly since my parents use him constantly. And if they found out I left campus, that was another load of unwanted questions I didn’t intend to answer at this hour. Or ever.

A cab was the next best thing.

It took only fifteen minutes from campus to reach Electric Haze in record time, considering it was a Friday night in New York City. Nickie and Jeremy were waiting outside in line as the car pulled up to the curb. Their outfits were coordinated, and I wondered if they got ready together.

Then it got me thinking, how often had they done that without me?

Securing my crossbody purse, I gave the cab driver a generous tip for risking his life in the heavy traffic to drive my ass out on a Friday night and met them in line.

Nickie hugged me so tight I thought she would pop my head off like a bobblehead. Jeremy kissed me on each cheek and spun me around like a ballet dancer.